


I've Got You

by fakingg_sanity



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Cute Moment, Dead Ianto, M/M, Mourning, Post CoE, Sort Of, Tear Jerker, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 06:50:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20862026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakingg_sanity/pseuds/fakingg_sanity
Summary: “You’re not really here.” It wasn’t a question. Jack didn’t even expect a response."No, I'm not."Ianto and Jack have a conversation that shouldn't technically be possible.-A sad, Post CoE fic that I'll apologise for now.





	I've Got You

Jack didn’t want to be here. This was the last place he wanted to be in the entire world, maybe entire universe. An ache he couldn’t identify – didn’t want to even acknowledge – has such a strong clutch on his stomach, he wanted to be sick, just to see if it would go away. But he knew, he always knew, he was the only one who could be here. Gwen was long gone. Deep in her hiding, he didn’t even know where she’d gone. He didn’t want to know, she deserved to be away from him. Gwen deserved the rest of her life free from Captain Jack Harkness. Jack looked up at the flat building, a place he knew so intimately, and thought about someone else who deserved the rest of their life without him. Or the rest of their life full stop.

Ianto Jones. The name still made Jack’s heart pound uncomfortably, made something inside of him twist so hard it physically hurt. It’d been 5 days. Only 5 days since it all ended, since the children and Steven and… Ianto… The longest 5 days of his entire life. Jack had lived for a long time, but the idea of facing the rest of his life alone made the potential millions of years ahead of him seem that much more daunting. He didn’t want to live anymore. Not in a universe without Ianto Jones.

The flat – Ianto’s flat – needed clearing and sorting. The stuff in it no longer belonged to Torchwood, as Torchwood no longer existed. Which meant there would be no ‘shoving it all away to deal with at another time’. He had to sort the stuff into boxes then take it Ianto’s sister’s house. That was all. An easy job by all standards. But every time Jack tried to take a step towards the building, he couldn’t do it.

It was a small, unattractive building. Only four floors, housing 12 apartments total. A small community, where the neighbours where aware of each other, if not exactly friendly. Jack had met a number of them over the months. He would miss nodding heads with Mrs Davies of a morning, or smiling at Mr Griffiths as he and Ianto left for work. Little interactions he would never have again. Part of why Jack was so reluctant to go inside, why he could barely stomach the idea. Was the knowing how he and Ianto had left the flat that morning for work. They’d been up early, responding to the hitchhiker Ianto had been tracking for a few weeks, so they’d left the flat in a mess. Jack knew he’d find the bed unmade as they’d left it that morning, the two coffee mugs and plates as they’d shared a quick breakfast, the left-over pizza in the fridge from the takeaway the night before. All of that, just over a week old. It felt like longer. It felt like years.

Jack closed his eyes and willed himself to walk forward. Or better yet, will himself into last week. Just give him another day in that world, another hour with Ianto, just to memorise the lines of his face, the colour of his eyes, the corners of his smile. Just another moment to feel as loved as he did whenever they were together. Just another…

Jack opened his eyes, and he was still outside the flat. It was still dark and cold. And he still felt as empty as he had done moments ago. However, he was no longer alone.

Jack drew a long, shaky breath.

“You’re not really here.” It wasn’t a question. Jack didn’t even expect a response.

“No. I’m not.”

Jack’s heart clenched painfully. That voice. God, he’d do anything for that voice. He closed his eyes again, not wanting to turn as look, to break the spell of whatever trick his mind was playing.

“Then why are you _here…” _Jack’s voice cracked, tears of intense grief fighting their way through his remaining defences.

“Because you need me to be. Because you can’t to this alone.” Jack turned his head towards the voice, and there he was, Ianto Jones. Looking exactly as he always did, and smiling. Ianto continued. “Because even though I’m no longer here.” Ianto gestured vaguely in front of them, gesturing to the world – _the real world._ “I will always be here.” He reached out and placed his hand over Jack’s heart. Jack let his eyes slip closed and focused on the feeling of Ianto’s hand over his heart. He wasn’t sure if this was real, but it felt real, and that was enough.

“Will you always be here?” Jack placed his hand over Ianto’s, and tried to ignore the fact he only felt the cold material of his shirt. Ianto smiled softly at him, that beautiful disarming smile that never failed to send Jack under.

“If you want me. I’ll never leave you Jack, but it’ll be your decision if you want to see me.”

“I always want to see you… Can I touch?”

“Ah…” Ianto chuckled and tilted his head back with a wry smile. He looked delicious in the moonlight, Jack wanted to kiss him. “That would be telling, but probably not. But who’s to say, it’s been an odd few days.”

“You remember?”

“Do I remember dying?” Jack flinched. “Yes. I’m not sure what happened afterwards, but here I am. And I don’t know how long I get to stay, so while I’m here… while we have this time, you need me for this. So, we’re going to do it just like everything else, together.”

“Together?”

“Together Jack. And I promise, I’ve got you.”

Jack crumbled. All of it, Ianto, his promises… it was all too much. It felt real, too real. But it wasn’t, it couldn’t be. He followed Ianto as they began to walk towards the flat. They’d done this walk a thousand times, but never like this, never not touching. Jack kept his eyes on Ianto, afraid that if he looked away – even blinked – he would lose him forever… again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading! I know i've been back in a bit of a dry spell with posting again. Mostly cus moving back to Cardiff and getting settled again with uni has been a bit harder than i anticipated. But I'm back on track now, all my classes are up and running and i've found myself a bit of free time where i'm not bombarded by lectures and scripts to proof read (I'm doing a film course for context :). 
> 
> I actually wrote this little one shot a few months ago, I was laying in bed and had that little bit of dialogue where Jack says 'You're not really here." And Ianto replies "No, I'm not" pop into my head. I thought it had potential, so i wrote a story around it. And then i promptly forgot about said story lmao. So when i finally remembered, almost a month into term, I tidied it up a little and im posting it now. I really hope you guys enjoy it, even if it's a bit of a bummer. And don't worry, I am working on a post-serenity story (that i'll actually finish this time lol) but it might take awhile to finish while uni continues to kick my ass. hope you enjoy :D


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